The ISIS terror group has publicly beheaded 15 Iraqi soldiers in central Mosul. After the executions, terrorists paraded the decapitated bodies along major thoroughfares.

The unfortunate soldiers were reportedly taken as prisoners, following last week’s clashes in southwestern Mosul. Raafat al-Zarari, the head of Nineveh Media Center, told ARA News that “hundreds of people witnessed the execution.”

The grisly executions were likely intended to boost the ISIS sagging morale and demonstrate its enduring authority.

According to al-Zarari, “ISIS promoted the capture and execution of those soldiers as a victory for the so-called Caliphate against Iraqi forces.”

Undeterred, Iraqi forces have continued to advance into Mosul’s eastern neighborhoods. The Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga launched a joint operation on October 17, to capture the city and its surroundings from ISIS.

Iraqi security forces recently took control of dozens of towns and villages in Mosul’s countryside. They also captured several neighborhoods in the city itself.